JP2002123138A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of forming a high-quality image by preventing the temperature rise of the device by effectively discharging heat inside the device to the outside of the device. SOLUTION: This image forming device has an image forming part 4 forming an image on a sheet and an image reader 3 reading the image of an original, and is constituted by disposing the image reader 3 above the image forming part 4. An exhaust port 96 is provided on the upper surface of the housing of the image forming part 4 and an exhaust port 95 is provided on the lower surface of the housing of the image reader 3, and also an exhaust device 90 having intake ports 92 and 94 connected to the exhaust ports 95 and 96 and introducing exhaust air from the exhaust ports 95 and 96 and a forcible exhaust fan 91 guiding the air introduced from the intake ports 92 and 94 to the outside of the device is provided between the image forming part 4 and the image reader 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer, and a scanner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of image forming apparatus,
For example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 5 is known.

First, a controller (not shown) sends a signal to a laser oscillator to emit a laser beam.
Next, the laser light is reflected by a rotating mirror 50 (generally called a polygon mirror), and is reflected again by a reflection mirror 51 so as to be irradiated onto a photosensitive drum 52.

The photosensitive drum 52 is operated by a series of these operations.
A so-called latent image is formed thereon. After the latent image is developed by the developing device 53, it is transferred as a toner image on a sheet.

On the other hand, sheets are fed one by one from a sheet cassette by a pickup roller 54 and pass below the photosensitive drum 52. When passing, the toner image is transferred onto the sheet by the process described above. Thereafter, the sheet is pressed by the fixing roller pairs 55 and 56 and heated by the heat of the heater provided inside the roller, so that the toner image is fixed on the sheet. The sheet on which the fixing has been completed is discharged to a discharge tray 57 provided outside the apparatus by the conveying means.

Documents are stacked on a document tray 58 of an automatic document feeder 80, and are sequentially conveyed one by one to a reading position 59. The original passes through the reading section as it is, and the image is reflected by the folding mirrors 60, 61, and 62.
After that, the image is guided to an image reading element such as a CCD, where the image is converted into an electric signal. The converted image signal is transferred to the lower image forming unit having the above-described image forming process, and the laser emits light in accordance with the image signal. The image forming process after the emission of the laser is as described above.

The sheet is discharged in addition to the discharge tray 57.
It is also possible to discharge to the upper surface discharge unit 1 as a discharge stacking unit formed between the image forming unit and the image reading unit.
Up to the point where the fed sheet passes below the photosensitive drum 52 and fixes the image formed by the pair of fixing rollers 55 and 56, it is the same as the above-described example. Fixing roller pair 5
The sheets discharged from the sheets 5 and 56 are then discharged and stacked on the upper surface discharge unit 1 via the switching flappers 10 and 11.

Unlike the case where the sheet is ejected onto the ejection tray 57 described above, the sheets ejected to the upper surface ejection section 1 are sequentially stacked and output with the image surface facing downward, so that the output is reduced. At the time when all the operations are completed, the sheets are stacked in the output order. For this reason, this is a more general method of output from a computer or the like.

In such an apparatus such as a so-called digital copying machine, an image reading apparatus (reader) and an image forming section (printer) are particularly integrally formed as long as electric signals can be exchanged. As described above, the image reading device can be relatively freely arranged above the image forming unit as in the example described above, and the arrangement space is often used as a sheet discharging unit. It has become to.

[0010] By adopting such a configuration, the discharge tray 57 for discharging sheets outside the image forming section can be normally used and stored as described above, and the installation space of the apparatus can be saved. There is also an advantage that you can. The appearance of such an example is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, an image forming section 4 is arranged below the image reading device 3 with a space therebetween, and the upper surface of the image forming section 4 is configured as an upper surface discharging section 1. The sheets discharged from the discharge port 7 of the image forming unit 4 are sequentially stacked on the upper surface discharge unit 1.

When a user takes out a sheet stacked on the upper surface discharge unit 1, the user inserts his hand into the depression 6 provided on the upper surface discharge unit 1 so that the sheet can be easily taken out.

Below the image forming section 4, a paper feed deck 5 capable of storing a large number of types of sheets is arranged.

An operation unit 2 for operating the entire apparatus by a user includes:
It is arranged in the image reading device 3. After setting the document on the upper surface of the image reading unit, the user operates the operation means (such as operation buttons) on the operation unit 2 to form a desired image.

[0015]

However, when the above-described configuration is adopted, the following problems have occurred.

As described above, the image forming unit 4 includes a fixing device that applies heat and pressure to the toner image on the sheet to fix the image on the sheet. If the excess heat generated from such a fixing device is not discharged from the inside of the image forming unit 4, the temperature inside the image forming unit 4 rises.

The rise in temperature causes melting and sticking of the toner and the like, and in a remarkable case, causes the destruction of the image forming section 4. Alternatively, when the operating temperature environment of various electric components becomes high, the electric components may be caused to fail or break down.

The problem of the so-called internal temperature rise is as follows.
The phenomenon is not limited to the image forming unit 4 alone,
Also occurs in the image reading device 3 disposed above the image reading device. That is, the reading accuracy of the image reading device 3 is significantly deteriorated due to the heat generated by lamps illuminating the original and the heat generated by the electric components for operating the image reading device 3 for reading the image. This can cause phenomena such as parts being destroyed.

Further, in a usage example in which the image forming unit 4 and the image reading device 3 are arranged in an overlapping manner, an upward exhaust path from the inside of the image forming unit 4 where heat is apt to escape due to the rise of air is originally provided. Because it is hindered by the image reading device 3,
There is no place for the heat in the image forming section 4 to escape, and problems due to the temperature rise in the apparatus are likely to occur.

Further, the image reading device 3 is affected by the heat of the image forming section 4 from below, and the same problem is likely to occur.

Further, when the image forming section 4 and the image reading apparatus 3 are configured to overlap each other and the space between them is used as a sheet discharging section, the discharged sheet must pass through the fixing device. In general, a stack of stacked sheets has a considerable amount of heat because the sheets are stacked while containing the residual heat when they are heated by the heating device, and this is applied to the image reading device 3 disposed above the stack. There is also a problem that it has a negative effect.

Further, since optical components for scanning a laser beam to form a latent image of an image are disposed below the stacked sheets, heat from the stacked sheets adversely affects the optical performance. May be given.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to effectively discharge the heat inside the apparatus to the outside to prevent the temperature of the apparatus from rising. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of forming a high quality image.

[0024]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an image forming section for forming an image on a sheet, and an image forming section provided on an upper surface of a housing of the image forming section. An image forming section exhaust port that discharges heat of the image forming section to the outside of the housing, and an intake port that is connected to the image forming section exhaust port to introduce exhaust gas from the image forming section exhaust port. An exhaust means having an exhaust port for introducing air introduced from an intake port to the outside of the apparatus is mounted on the housing.

Further, it is preferable that an image reading section for reading an image of a document is mounted on the exhaust means.

An exhaust port for discharging the image reading section to the outside of the casing of the image reading section is provided on the lower surface of the casing, and an intake port connected to the exhaust port for the image reading section is provided. It is good to provide on the upper surface of the exhaust means.

The exhaust port of the exhaust means is preferably provided on the outer surface of the apparatus.

Further, it is preferable that a discharge stacking section for the image-formed sheet is provided on the upper surface of the housing of the image forming section, and an intake port for taking in residual heat of the sheet is provided on a side surface of the exhaust means on the discharge stacking section side.

Further, it is preferable that the exhaust unit and the image reading unit mounted on the exhaust unit are detached from the apparatus main body and operable separately from the image forming unit.

Further, it is preferable that the exhaust means has a forced exhaust means for promoting intake and exhaust.

Further, it is preferable that an intake port of the exhaust means is provided so as to be freely opened and closed.

By providing the exhaust means in the image forming apparatus, the heat of the image forming section, the image reading section or the sheet discharging and stacking section can be effectively led out of the image forming apparatus.

In an image forming apparatus having an image reading section arranged above the image forming section, the exhaust means is provided between the image forming section and the image reading section so that the image forming section and the image reading section can be read. Both units can be evacuated.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

However, unless otherwise specified, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them. Not a thing. Note that the internal configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the conventional example, and thus description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an exhaust device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration in which an exhaust device and an image forming unit are combined, and FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration in which an exhaust device and an image reading device are combined.

As shown in FIG. 1, when an image forming section 4 for forming an image and an image reading device (image reading means) 3 which can be separated therefrom are used in an overlapping manner, Further, an exhaust device (exhaust means) 90 is configured so as to be able to be stacked.

The exhaust device 90 basically has a hollow duct structure, and has an intake port 92 on the upper surface, an intake port 93 on the side surface, and an intake port 93 on the lower surface (not shown). A mouth 94 is provided. Also, the exhaust device 90
An exhaust port is provided on the side surface of the forcible exhaust fan 91 as a forced exhaust means for promoting intake and exhaust.
Is provided. The exhaust port is disposed so as to be located on the outer side surface of the apparatus main body when the exhaust device 90 is attached to the image forming apparatus main body.

Since the upper surface of the image reading device 3 is a place where the read image document is placed, it is difficult to exhaust the heat in the image reading device 3 from the upper surface. Also, an automatic document feeder 80 for automatically transporting the document to the reading unit is provided.
Is sometimes disposed on the upper surface, and it is similarly difficult to exhaust air from the upper surface.

Therefore, the exhaust port 95 of the image reading device 3
Is provided on the lower surface of the housing of the image reading device 3. The exhaust port 95 of the image reading device 3 is provided at a position where it coincides with the intake port 92 provided on the upper surface of the exhaust device 90 in a state where those devices are placed in a stacked state.

Therefore, when the image reading device 3 is overlaid on the exhaust device 90, the intake port 92 of the exhaust device 90 and the exhaust port 95 of the image reading device 3 are connected, and the forced exhaust fan in the exhaust device 90 If the gas is exhausted in the direction of arrow F in the figure, for example, it functions as the exhaust device of the image reading device 3 as it is, and exhausts the image reading device 3.

Such a configuration is the same in the relationship between the exhaust device 90 and the image forming section 4 as described below.

Assuming that the image forming section 4 is used only, an exhaust port 96 is provided on the upper surface of the housing of the image forming section 4, and the exhaust heat in the image forming section 4 is discharged by the exhaust port 96. It is released to the outside through the mouth 96. This is because the heat inside the image forming unit 4 can be efficiently discharged by directly discharging the humidified hot air inside the apparatus naturally upward.

The exhaust device 90 is placed above the image forming section 4 used in this manner. At this time, the intake port 94 (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the exhaust device 90 is configured so that its position coincides with the exhaust port 96 of the image forming section 4. Device 90
The gas is taken into the exhaust device 90 through the intake port 94 on the lower surface of the device, and is discharged to the side outside by the forced exhaust fan 91 as in the case described above.

Further, the exhaust device 90 is provided with an intake port 93 on a side surface thereof. As described above, when the upper surface of the image forming unit 4 is used as a sheet discharge stacking unit, the upper surface of the image forming unit 4 is heated to a considerably high temperature by heat generated by the sheet discharged after passing through the fixing. It is known to be. When the image forming unit is used alone, there is nothing obstructing above the discharged sheet, so that the heat of the discharged sheet is naturally radiated upward as it is. When the image reading device 3 is disposed above, the upper surface of the discharged sheet storing heat is covered by the image reading device 3, so that the heat is not easily diffused and the heat is stored.

The residual heat of the discharge sheet trapped on the upper surface of the image forming section 4 is taken into the exhaust device from the intake port 93 on the side surface provided in the exhaust device 90, and is discharged to the outside by a forced exhaust fan 91, for example. I can do things.

The intake ports 92, 93 and 94 of the exhaust device 90 are provided with an intake port adjusting mechanism as shown in FIG.

That is, the intake ports 92, 93, 94 are provided on the inner surface of the exhaust device 90 having a duct-like shape.
And adjusting plates 92a, 93a, and 94a provided with intake ports at corresponding positions depending on the sliding position are configured to be slidable in the directions of arrows in the figure.

By making the adjusting plates 92a, 93a and 94a slidable and movable, the upper intake port 92, the lower intake port 94, and the side intake port 93 of the exhaust device 90 are provided.
Can be selectively set freely.

For example, as shown in FIG.
For example, when the exhaust device 90 is used only on the upper surface, the adjustment plates 92a and 93a are slid so that the upper intake port 92 serving as the intake port for the image reading device 3 and the side intake port 93 are provided.
Is set to a position to block and.

By setting the intake port in this way,
The intake of the exhaust device 90 is performed only from the intake port 94 provided on the lower surface of the exhaust device 90, and the exhaust is forcibly exhausted by the forced exhaust fan 91 in the direction of arrow F in the drawing. It can be used as an exhaust device excellent in exhaust only from the image forming section 4.

Even when the image forming section 4 can be used alone without the exhaust device 90, for example, when the apparatus is operated at a higher temperature than in a normal use environment, or when the apparatus is processed. It is possible to use such an exhaust device 90 that is mounted on the upper side only when the internal temperature rise in the device becomes more severe due to the increased capacity.

Next, FIG. 4 shows an example in which the image reading device 3 and the exhaust device 90 are stacked and the image forming section 4 is used independently.

As in the previous example, when the apparatus is used in such a configuration, the adjusting plates 93a, 94a corresponding to the lower intake port 94 and the side intake port 93 in the exhaust device 90 are slid in the sliding direction. Stagger and block each intake.

By doing so, the intake of the exhaust device 90 is configured to only exhaust from the exhaust port 95 on the lower surface of the image reading device 3 through the upper intake port 92. Exhaust fan 9 for exhaust only
1 makes it possible to perform the processing efficiently.

In the figure, reference numeral 97 denotes a foot member for supporting the image reading device 3.

With this configuration, even when the image reading device 3 is used alone without the image forming section 4, the device can be used with a more efficient exhaust structure.

As in the case of the image forming unit 4 described above, even when the image reading device 3 is originally used alone without the exhaust device 90, for example, when the image reading device 3 is used at a higher temperature or when the image reading device 3 is used. If the internal temperature rise in the equipment becomes more severe due to the increase in the processing capacity, the exhaust processing capacity can be further improved by adopting such a configuration, and stable operation can be achieved. .

In the above-described embodiment, the exhaust device 90 is provided with the forced exhaust fan 91, and the electrical components such as the power supply are provided inside the exhaust device 90 (not shown).

The above-described embodiment is an example in which the present invention is preferably used, and the embodiment of the present invention includes:
Not only the image forming apparatus described above, but also the following configuration is possible.

For example, the exhaust device 90 may not be provided with a forced fan, but may be simply constituted by a duct having an intake port and an exhaust port.

The arrangement of the forced exhaust fans 91 is not limited to the arrangement described in the present embodiment, and the number thereof is not limited to one, but may be a plurality.

The position of the adjusting plate for adjusting the opening and closing of the intake port of the exhaust device 90 may be automatically adjusted by an electric means such as a solenoid or a motor.

Further, even if there is no adjusting plate capable of adjusting the opening and closing of the intake port, and the configuration merely has the intake port,
Since the same effect can be obtained with respect to exhaust, a configuration is possible.

The arrangement of the intake port or the exhaust port is not limited to the arrangement described in the present embodiment, but can be freely arranged according to the configuration and functions of the image forming section or the image reading apparatus. .

As described above, in the present embodiment, the exhaust device 90 having the intake port 94 connected to the exhaust port of the image forming section 4 is mounted on the upper surface of the image forming section 4. The exhaust heat in the image forming unit 4 can be effectively performed through the exhaust device 90.

Further, the image reading device 3 can be mounted on the upper part of the exhaust device 90, and the exhaust device 90 has an intake port connected to both the image forming section 4 and the image reading device 3, so that the image Even if the reading device 3 is mounted above the image forming unit 4, it is possible to adopt an exhaust configuration in which the exhaust heat of both the image forming unit 4 and the image reading device 3 is not hindered.

Further, by providing the exhaust port of the exhaust device 90 so as to be located on the outer surface of the image forming apparatus, it is possible to effectively exhaust heat in the direction of the apparatus even in the above-described mounting configuration. Can be done.

Further, since the exhaust device 90 has an exhaust path from the sheet discharging and stacking section, the residual heat of the discharged sheets stacked between the image forming section 4 and the image reading apparatus 3 can be effectively reduced. It is possible to exhaust air out of the device.

Further, a forced exhaust fan 91 is provided in the exhaust device 90.
By providing a forced exhaust means such as this, the efficiency of exhaust heat can be further improved.

The image forming unit 4 can be operated only by a combination of the image forming unit 4 and the exhaust unit 90 or the image reading unit 3 and the exhaust unit 90.
Alternatively, the exhaust device 90 that can be used even when each of the image reading devices 3 is used alone can be configured, and the image forming unit 4, the image reading device 3, and the exhaust device 90 are variously combined according to various situations. The device can be configured.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the exhaust means is provided between the image forming section and the image reading section, the heat of the image forming section, the image reading section or the sheet discharging and stacking section can be effectively reduced. The image forming apparatus can be guided outside the image forming apparatus, and a high-quality image can be formed by preventing the temperature of the apparatus from rising.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the exhaust device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a configuration in which an exhaust device and an image forming unit are combined.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration in which an exhaust device and an image reading device are combined.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Top discharge unit 2 Operation unit 3 Image reading unit 4 Image forming unit 5 Paper feed deck 6 Depression 7 Discharge port 10, 11 Flapper 50 Mirror 51 Reflective mirror 52 Photosensitive drum 53 Developing machine 54 Pickup roller 55, 56 Fixing roller pair 57 Discharge Tray 58 Document tray 60, 61, 62 Mirror 80 Automatic document feeder 90 Exhaust device 91 Forced exhaust fan 92, 93, 94 Inlet 92a, 93a, 94a Adjustment plate 95, 96 Exhaust

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image forming section for forming an image on a sheet, and an image forming section exhaust port provided on an upper surface of a housing of the image forming section and discharging heat of the image forming section out of the housing. In the image forming apparatus, an intake port that is connected to the image forming unit exhaust port to introduce exhaust air from the image forming unit exhaust port, and an exhaust port that guides air introduced from the intake port to the outside of the apparatus. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an exhaust unit having: 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image reading unit for reading an image of the document is mounted on the exhaust unit. 3. An image reading section exhaust port for discharging heat of the image reading section to the outside of the casing of the image reading section is provided on a lower surface of the casing, and an intake port connected to the image reading section exhaust port is provided. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided on an upper surface of the exhaust unit. 4. The exhaust port of the exhaust means is provided on an outer surface of the apparatus.
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 5. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a discharge stacking section for the image-formed sheet is provided on an upper surface of the housing of the image forming section, and an intake port for taking in residual heat of the sheet is provided on a side surface of the exhaust means on the discharge stacking section side. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said exhaust means and an image reading section mounted on the exhaust means are detached from the apparatus main body and are operable separately from said image forming section.
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 7. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said exhaust means has a forced exhaust means for promoting intake and exhaust. 8. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an intake port of said exhaust means is provided so as to be openable and closable.